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HTC Hero, Xperia X10 Series Getting Android 2.1

Categories: Android, HTC, Sony Ericsson
By: , IntoMobile
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010 at 7:15 AM

Both Sony Ericsson and HTC have confirmed that some of their handsets will be getting the upgrade to Android 2.1, which was host to a couple of new features, like new contact and account management, combined inbox, and Bluetooth 2.1.  Some folks have been waiting for 2.1 on the Hero since before spring, and will be pretty happy about the update which has already landed in Taiwan. It looks like Sprint tried to push out a 2.1 update for the HTC Hero in May, but from the comments, it doesn’t sound like it went especially smoothly. Hopefully those with European versions will have an easier go. As far as the X10s go, they should have launched with something newer than 1.6 in the first place.

The HTC Hero came out about a year ago, which feels like ancient history considering how many Android phones have been released since then, but it’s good to see that even the older hardware can handle the latest operating systems, and should quell any worries about Android fragmentation. Sony Ericsson’s update will span the Xperia X10, X10 Mini, and the X10 Mini Pro, but specific to the X10 will be a few new features, like HD video recording, and beaming Timescape and Mediascape to your TV wirelessly.  The recently-announced X8 will also get 2.1 sooner or later, but Sony Ericsson is still unsure whether or not they’ll launch with it.

The HTC Hero’s update will arrive by the end of the month, while the Xperias will get Android 2.1 “in the latter part of Q3″. Android 2.2 (a.k.a. Froyo) has a whole ton of new features, and it would be cool if these handsets could also handle the next upgrade, but let’s take it one step at a time.

[via Sony Ericsson, Engadget]

About The Author

Simon Sage

Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.

  • Mark

    Does anyone know when the xperia 10 will be able to update? is it free? and where do you download the update from, will sony send a me a msg with a link or??

    cheers

  • Darren

    The update will be in Q3 of this year, It will be free (but network charges will more then likely apply) To update your X10 go to Settings, About Phone, and then click Software Update

  • joe

    the SE update 2.1 will come in Q4 or late uts gonna take a looog tim. by the tim 2.1 comes we r still back. wasted a lot of money on ths phone…

  • Doc_House

    that might be true but still, it sounds like the "deabian way" they are pretty much behind for what concerns kernel updates but actually they test just everything before relasing the update. So i prefere a slightly outdated but rock solid O/S on my phone than an up-to-date O/S still affected by bugs….

    • @gurutantry

      True,